


Two Directions

by wiiimzy



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Clones, M/M, Twincest, Twins, Weird, and zayn loves javadd a bit too much, horrible, louis hates william, mentioned self harm, oh yeah and gay, one direction twins, we love the gay, who allowed me to start writing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-06-27
Updated: 2014-10-01
Packaged: 2017-12-16 09:20:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 12,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/860507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wiiimzy/pseuds/wiiimzy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The boys of One Direction has a stressful life. There are interviews, signings, studio recordings, concerts and photo shoots. Their management decides to make clones, so the five singers lives will be easier. William, Javadd, James, James and Edward is created, so they can body double and pretend to be One Direction if necessary, so the lads can have some free time. But are their lives really made any easier?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. An Unexpected Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> So yeah, just like If Only You, this thing has been resting peacefully on Tumblr and Wattpad for the last year, but I decided to upload all my stuff on here as well, so yeah.

”You did WHAT?!” All the five One Direction boys screamed out at the same time, looking at their manager in disbelief.

“We cloned you. We took your DNA and put it into fertilized eggs, they used some kind of high tech machine thing- look, lads, I really have no idea how the actual process worked, I just made the decision. You all have a clone each.” The five boys were out of words. They were so shocked over this revelation. Liam seemed to be the only one who could talk at all.

“But that sort of thing is impossible. Cloning humans is impossible.”

“Difficult, Liam, not impossible. We have successfully created James, Javadd, James, William and Edward.”

“They have our middle names?!” Louis could suddenly speak again. Furious and still shocked, he felt violated.

“We didn’t know what to call them, so we gave them your middle names, which caused a problem in your case Liam and Niall. We have two Jameses.”

“But. You. Created. Clones. Of. Us. Without. Asking. Us. First.” Harry looked at his friend, and he was surprised that their manager didn’t run for his life. Louis looked terrifying.

“Lou, settle down.” Liam said, trying to calm the Doncaster boy. “I’m sure he’ll explain it all to us, and management’s intentions behind it.” Then he looked at the man in the expensive looking armchair. “You will explain this to us, won’t you?”

“Well, of course I will. We did it to help you boys.” Zayn snickered.

“How would it help us to have clones?”

“You boys have such a stressful schedule; we created the clones so that you would not have to do all the photo shoots, interviews and appearing’s, and actually have some free time from time to time. We wanted to relieve you from stress.” Louis laughed bitterly.

“So you try and relieve us from stress by creating clones of us, so that we have to worry about them saying the wrong things at the wrong times, destroying our reputation? You are insane.” Zayn agreed with Louis, how could they do something so stupid? This would all just cause problems.

“Louis, it’ll be fine. The clones are like you in every possible way, believe me, William was just as angry with me when we told them about this plan.” Louis didn’t calm down though, he was still boiling with anger. William. Hmpf. William could go screw himself.

“Look, I don’t know if this is the best idea either, I mean, how do I know this, “Javadd-fellow” won’t do something stupid to put our careers on the line?” Zayn said with hesitation.

“Zayn, would you do anything to put your careers on the line?” The manager asked. Zayn shook his head.

“No, of course not, I-“ The manager interrupted.

“And neither would he. The clones do not only look like you, they also have your personalities. They’d never do anything you boys wouldn’t do.” Niall seemed to be the only one excited about this.

“Does James also bleach his hair?” Harry laughed. Of course Niall would ask if his clone also changed his hair colour.

“Yes, he does, but I have to warn you, he has never set his foot in Ireland.” The manager looked a little concerned over that last part, Liam gave Niall a sympathetic smile but Niall didn’t seem to understand.

“What? I could bring him there and show it to him.” It almost broke Liam’s heart to see his friend like this. He seemed so excited about getting a twin brother who he could be just the same as. No longer have to be the different one because of his Irishness.

“No, Niall, you don’t understand. James, he…” But Liam was cut off by a voice speaking in a London accent.

“Brother!” A blond head rushed into the room and threw his arms around Niall. “I’m so glad I can finally meet you!” Niall dropped his smile when he saw his own reflection running towards him, but the words that came from his mouth were not in his own Irish accent. James spoke like a Londoner.

“But, you… You should be like me. We’re Irish. We speak Irish.” Niall’s smile was gone, and so was James’, they mirrored each other’s sad expression.

“I’m sorry, Niall. I’m not Irish. You are Irish. I’m English.”

“But how can you-“ But Niall was cut off by a boy standing in the doorway, looking just like Liam. The other James.

“Your accent is based on were you grow up. Zayn has the Bradford accent because he’s from Bradford, Liam and I speak like people do in Wolverhampton, you speak Irish and James, unfortunately speaks Londoner.” The boy looked shyly at his body double. “Hello Liam.”

“You have to be the other James.” James Payne nodded. Liam smiled and gave him a hug. “I’m glad to meet you.” James Horan was comforting his twin brother, attempting to speak Irish to cheer him up, and it seemed to work a bit. At the same time Edward entered the room. Harry smiled his signature smile showing all his teeth at him.

“Hi, Edward. How’re you doing?” Edward chuckled.

“Couldn’t be better. I just found out I’m famous without doing any work.” Harry laughed. Louis couldn’t help but notice how they even had the exact same voice. He was looking forward to getting one more Hazza, but he could not call Edward Hazza. That would just be weird.

“Zayn, you’re looking good.” Javadd had entered the room. Zayn blushed. Louis went over to talk to Edward and Harry. Maybe this clone thing would not be so bad?

“And people say I’m vain.” Zayn chuckled.

“I have no idea were that comes from!” Javadd joined in the laughter. The manager looked happily at how well the clones and originals got along. The two Jameses were talking to their brothers; Zayn was asking Javadd if they’d gotten the same tattoos, Edward, Harry and Louis were discussing Harry’s curls. The only one that was missing was William. Right, William. Louis and Harry needed to be told about that before they found out the hard way. He walked over to the trio and began to speak.

“Louis, Harry, there is something I need to tell you about Will-“ but he was cut off by a loud cry Louis first thought came from himself.

“TEDDY!” Teddy? That was a great name for Edward! He looked over to the doorway were he saw a copy of himself standing. He smiled at William. They were so alike. William ran over to Edward and put his arms around him. Louis laughed, that was just the sort of thing he’d do with Harry. He was glad that their clones had the same kind of relationship they had. He was about to turn and say this to Harry when William grabbed Edward’s neck and pulled him into a kiss, which Edward returned wholeheartedly. Louis and Harry stared at their clones in shock.

“They’re dating.” The manager said as the couple kept sucking faces with each other.


	2. The Irishman Who Spoke Like A Londoner

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> James Horan has been given the nickname ‘Jamie’ to be easier separated from James Payne.

“Oh, Louis, will you please calm down?” Harry told his friend for the sixteenth time that afternoon. The older boy was pacing around the living room, mumbling annoyed, incoherent sentences.

“Calm down? CALM DOWN?!” Louis shouted into thin air. “How am I supposed to calm down when I suddenly have a clone who looks exactly like me and will take my job?” Harry knew that it wasn’t really the fact that William stole his job that was the problem, but he said nothing. The real reason was a bit uncomfortable to him as well. William and Edward. Teddy and Will.

“He won’t steal your job, Lou. He’ll be your stand in. So that you don’t have to work if you’re feeling sick. So that you can relax for a few days while he’s doing the photo shoots.” Louis laughed bitterly.

“Yeah, as if I’ll be more relaxed when someone is out there risking mine and the bands reputation. It’s not like we can come and say: ‘oh, that was a mistake committed by Louis’s clone. Louis doesn’t really think raising money for finding a cure to AIDS is stupid’.” Harry chuckled.

“I doubt Will would say anything like that.” Louis gave him an annoyed look.

“It was an example, Harry. And since when is he ‘Will’ anyways?” Harry felt this was a sensitive subject and decided on not saying the first thing that popped into his head.

“Since I talked to him and found that he was a fun guy, very much like my best friend.” Louis sighed, but gave a little smile.

“But still. We’ve just known him for a few hours. It’s a little early to tell what we think about him.”

“But you immediately liked Jamie, Jav, James and Ed.” Louis flinched at the mention of Edward. “Why don’t you like William?” Louis didn’t answer, just sat down in the sofa, flicking on the telly. Harry knew better than to keep pressuring him, so he just dropped the subject and leaned further back into the cushions and started thinking of Ed and Will. It was a very uncomfortable topic. Not that Harry was opposed to homosexuality, not at all; he had himself been attracted to men before and considered himself bisexual if he had to put a label on it. It was what the manager had told them. The clones do not only look like you, they also have your personalities. They’d never do anything you boys wouldn’t do. This scared Harry a bit, because that meant that if Ed was dating Will, and had fallen in love with him, Harry would fall in love with Louis. But no, that was completely mental. There was absolutely no way he could ever fall in love with Louis. Louis was his best friend, almost like an older brother. Seeing Ed and Will snog each other like that, the clones of himself and Lou, was the most uncomfortable thing he’d ever done. He’d have to talk to Ed about that, and asking him to keep down the relationship thing when he and Louis were around. Ed would understand, and Harry knew this because he himself would understand it if the situation was the other way around, and Ed was Harry (which was good because he knew what he’d react like, but scared him because of the whole ‘Dating Will-business’).

 

\------

 

“So what are we going to do about that?” Jav says. Zayn smiles at him. Niall, Jamie and Ed laughing in the background while Liam, James and Will is shaking their heads.

“Well, it’s obvious isn’t it?” Zayn grabs the arm of his clone, seeing the lack of ink on the left forearm. “We have to get you a tattoo.” He pulls Jav up from the sofa and start walking towards the door.

“Wait.” One of the Payne’s stop them. “You can’t both go.” Zayn rolls his eyes. Right. He could not step outside with Jav. If someone saw them and realized what was going on they would be in so much trouble.

“We’ll go with him.” Ed says, gesturing to himself and Will. “I mean, I’ve gotten tattoos before, since Harry’s got them, and it’ll be a great chance to go outside. Get some fresh air.” Liam was hesitant. Should Ed and Will really be let out in the streets together, easily seen by paparazzi’s?

“Alright. But keep the cute couple stuff down, okay? We don’t want rumours about Louis and Harry forming.” Will and Ed nodded, pulling Jav with them out the door.

Niall has observed the other boys while they were talking. He is confused by it and requires an answer.

“Were were you guys brought up?” Jamie and James looked confused, but Zayn and Liam looked equally interested. “How did you become this old so fast?”

“They added a growth hormone to our DNA, but it was deleted when we reached the proper physical age to be just like you.” James said, Jamie nodding.

“So how did you learn to act like us? Get our personalities and accents?” Liam asks the two clones. He wants to know the reason Niall had to feel left out. James and Jamie looks at each other with alarm. They are quiet for a minute, looking as if they were talking to each other non-verbally. Then James speaks.

“Well, the personality thing we’re not sure of, the scientists never told us how that worked, I don’t even think they knew how it worked, to be frank. But the accents we got from listening to you talk. I for example listened to only Liam’s voice for half a year. William did the same with Louis and Edward with Harry. We all did it.”

“Except you.” Niall says, looking straight into Jamie’s eyes, showing how hurt he feels.

“Don’t be so hard on him, Niall. He’s your twin.” Liam says.

“No, he has every right to be angry with me. I was a twat.” Jamie looks shamefully at the floor.

“You weren’t a twat, Jamie.” James says, patting his back. “You just made a mistake.”

“Why, what happened?” Zayn had tried not to get involved in the conversation, since he saw how pained Jamie was for talking about it, but he was too interested to not ask.

“I ran away.” Jamie answers.


	3. "Home Is Wherever You Are"

Zayn and Liam looked at Jamie in shock.

“Why?” They both burst out in unison. James had a knowing look on his puppy face. Niall was awfully quiet, watching his twin brother closely, suspecting what his answer would be, but not really wanting the Londoner voice say it.

“I was afraid.” Jamie answered, just like Niall had thought. “I was afraid of so many things that had to do with my job. I was afraid of being different from the other boys. I was afraid of being Irish but never setting my foot on the island. I was afraid of the fame. I was afraid of the way the fans hunted you all down. I was even afraid of Niall at first.” Niall flew at his brother, giving him an enormous hug, surprising the Payne’s and Zayn. The two blonde’s appeared to be talking to each other without words, while embracing each other. “So I ran away from the centre, living in Hyde Park for a few months before I got homesick and really wanted to go home. Security picked me up at Gatwick when I was attempting to take a flight to Dublin without a passport. They brought me back to the centre and I realized that Ireland was not my real home. My home is wherever you are, Niall.” Jamie kept talking while holding the Irish boy close. The Payne’s made cooing sounds, while Zayn chuckled at the two Horan’s being very adorable and movie cliché in front of them.

“I know, Jamie. I love you too.” Niall whispered into his ear, so the other boys in the room could not hear him.

 

\------

 

“Does it hurt?” Will asked his dark haired friend who was positioned in a chair, having his arm painted, seeming very curious and interested.

“No, Tomlinson. I’m having a needle putting ink inside my skin that will stay there forever. I actually enjoy this feeling.” Jav answered sarcastically. Ed chuckled at his boyfriend’s annoyed facial expression. He was so beautiful. He was about to lean in and kiss his cheek when Jav loudly cleared his throat, making Ed aware of the fact that he was pretending to be Harry, while Jav was Zayn and Will was Louis, and Harry and Louis was not together. It really pained him, not being able to show his affections in public, and from what he’d picked up from Harry and Louis’s behaviour, not around them two either. He really loved Will, more than anything, well, maybe he loved Harry a little more, he wasn’t sure who was first in his heart. He didn’t want anyone to stand in their way of being together, but he knew he must hide it for Harry’s sake. After all, Harry was his twin brother, more than a twin brother. He and Harry was the same. They were the same person at heart, which is why Ed was confused by why Louis and Harry were not in a relationship. Louis and William was the same, well, almost the same. William was, according to Ed, a little more extraordinary. Looking at his boyfriend while he teased Jav made Ed chuckle and a goofy smile spread on his lips. Will was truly amazing. He cared so much for his friends it was almost scary. Like now, he was distracting their dark haired friend from the pain he was in by talking about other things and harassing him about his and Zayn’s vanity. Ed also remembered when they first had found out that Jamie had run away. Will had wanted to go after him, and had even made a plan to how they would escape the centre so they could go after Jamie and bring him back to where he belonged; with them, his friends. When his attempt to leave the centre had failed and he had gotten caught by the guards, he had cried for a whole day. At first this had made Ed insecure, what if there was something going on between Will and Jamie? The thought of losing Will had made his heart ache and stomach to stir violently, almost as if he needed to throw up. A life without Will was pointless, horrifying even. But when talking to Will about it, he assured Ed that he loved Jamie like a brother and just wanted the whole gang together again.

“We are not whole without him. We need the blonde. And what would Niall say if we managed to lose his brother?” Even more reasons to why Will was extraordinary. He cared for Niall, a boy he’d never even met. Ed was lucky to have him in his life, and he wondered if Louis was as caring and amazing as Will. He probably was, but since Edward didn’t yet know his boyfriend’s brother he had yet to find out about that. Then he froze. What if Harry thought the same thing about William? What if Harry discovers what a fantastic person Will really is and falls in love with him too? It would be awful to have to compete with his own brother over the boy he desperately adores. But no, Harry would never do such a thing to Ed. He knew this for sure because if he was falling in love with Louis, he would stay away from him for Harry’s sake, even though Louis and Harry were not together. Yet. Ed smiled at the thought of the four of them going on double dates, laughing and having a good time together, as the tattoo artist finished up the job on Jav’s arm and Will clapped his hands at the finished work. The ink microphone looked great, and the three boys admired it a bit before it was wrapped up in bandages. After paying with Zayn’s credit card they all left the tattoo parlour and began walking back to the other boys who were at Liam’s flat. Ed resisted the urge to grab Will’s hand and instead slung an arm each around his friends’ shoulders. They all smiled and spoke about stupid nothing’s as they walked down the street. No fans attacked them; they just ran into a couple of girls who asked for pictures and autographs. Signing Harry’s name on the girl’s notebook felt strange, but Ed knew that this is what his life was in public. Out here he was Harry Styles, but he longed to go inside, curl up in Will’s arms and be Edward again.


	4. Styles Loves Tomlinson

“I need to speak to you.” The Styles twins said in unison when Ed walked into Harry and Louis’s flat and saw each other. They both laughed at their synchronisation before both sitting down on opposite sides of the kitchen table.

“You first.” Harry said to his brother, who guessed what Harry wanted to talk about and protested.

“No, Harry. I know what you’re gonna say and I think my topic is harder to talk about so we leave that for later, alright?” Harry nodded, a bit relieved that Ed knew how uncomfortable he was, talking about “The Relationship” as he had come to call it in his mind.

“Okay, I think you know this already, but Louis is very uncomfortable about you and William.” Ed chuckled.

“Believe me, I’ve noticed, and I also know Louis is not the only one.” He gave Harry a knowing look, which made him twist uncomfortably in his chair. “And I know how strange it must all be to you, so I respect your wishes to not have me and Will flaunting our relationship around you two, and we won’t. I’ve talked to Will about it too.” Harry felt himself relaxing at Ed’s words. No need to feel awkward then.

“Thank you. I really appreciate it you know, and I think Louis does to, even though he dislikes talking about it.”

“Maybe he dislikes talking about it because he has feelings for you which he thinks you don’t return.” If Harry had been eating he would have choked. What? Was Edward out of his mind? Louis, in love with him, Harry? Not possible.

“No, he doesn’t. That’s just crazy, Ed.”

“Maybe not as crazy as you think. I mean, Will loves me. Will is Louis, and I am you.” Ed’s face really lit up when talking about William. If Harry hadn’t been in the middle of a small crisis he would have found it cute, it reminded him of how Liam looked when talking about Danielle. I wonder how that will work out. Harry thought when Danielle and Liam’s relationship popped into his mind. But that was Liam and James’ business to worry about. Harry had the Louis-Ed-Will-crisis to deal with. He furiously grabbed his hair and pulled at the curls.

“But you are not me, Ed. I am not in love with a Tomlinson and I have actually met our family. I auditioned for the X-factor. You were created in a laboratory. I had to deal with hate from strangers at age seventeen. You spent all that time cuddling with my best friend’s clone and living secure in a centre with your best friends.”

“And you got to spend sixteen years with my family. I have only lived for eleven months. You got to live your dream singing on live television and sold out tours and an album on top of the charts. I got to live in fear about meeting you and constant jealousy that whenever I would sign an autograph it would be in your name, never for me. You got to see the world with your best friends. I got to see the inside of a centre in Newcastle. I never even stepped outside until yesterday when they brought us to London. Stop feeling like you’re the only one who have issues, Harry. You don’t even know what I’ve had to deal with.”

Harry froze at the words that burst out of the boy identical to him. Tears were streaming down both of their faces. Harry took a deep breath and hesitantly stepped closer to his brother. His hand brushed through the curls that resembled his own so much. Ed looked up at him before grabbing his shoulders and pulling him into a hug.

“I’m so sorry, Ed. I’m so sorry.” Harry chanted into his twin’s ear while rubbing his back gently.

“I’m sorry too, Haz. I shouldn’t have yelled like that, I know how you react when people yell at you.” They both leaned in more into the hug and caressed each other’s backs for a good few minutes before someone surprised them by talking.

“Wow. This could turn into a little fantasy I had a few weeks ago.” Ed chuckled at his boyfriend’s words and Harry blushed. Will had a suggestive look on his face. “What do you say, Harry? Wanna join us for some fun later?” he continued and gave him a playful wink, which earned him a slap from Ed.

“I can’t believe you!”

“What?” Will looked confused and Harry chuckled at the arguing couple.

“You’re flirting with my brother!”

“So?” Will was still confused.

“Well, how would you feel if I started checking Louis out and flirt with him, suggesting a threesome with him. Not very happy.” Will’s smile faded at Ed’s joking answer.

“That’s not funny, Ed.” He said and left the room again. Sudden realization hit Harry.

“Have they spoken to each other?” Ed looked as if he was thinking hard about it before shaking his head. “I think they need to. James and Liam get along well, Niall and Jamie get along well, you and I get on well, Zayn and Jav get on a little too well I’m afraid, but Will and Lou hasn’t even spoken to each other. There is no way this whole thing will work out if they are incapable of even talking to one another. We need to get them to talk.” Ed nodded in agreement.

“Yes. But how will we make it happen? They’re so stubborn.”

Harry agreed. Louis was one of the most stubborn people he knew, there was no way he would easily give in.


	5. Who Is Allowed To Know?

“What about Danielle?” The question seemed so obvious to Liam that it made him feel ashamed that he had not thought of it earlier. For once, the whole group had gathered, even Will and Louis, who both had been avoiding the other’s company, at Harry and Louis’s flat, since it was the biggest one. They were all scattered across the living room, doing different things, like playing FIFA (Zayn and Jamie, with Niall and Jav cheering on their brothers), involving in a card game (Will, Harry, James and Ed) or checking their Twitter accounts (Liam and Louis).

A tweet from Sugarscape mentioning her is what reminded him. Danielle didn’t know about James, and would she be allowed to? 

“I’m not kissing your girlfriend, if that’s what you’re scared of.” James answered. The Styles and Maliks chuckled.

“Well, since you’re basically the same person, I don’t think you should mind really. How much different can it be right?” Ed said biting back laughter, earning himself a death glare from both his boyfriend and Louis. Harry’s cheeks turned a shade of red darker, but his mouth stayed shut. Liam groaned in annoyance at the curly headed boy.

“It’s not the same. James is not me. James hasn’t met her. He doesn’t know how amazing she is. And it’s not about the kissing, even though I appreciate that you wouldn’t do that, James. Will she know that half of the stuff I do isn’t me at all? Does she know that I have a twin?”

The whole room went quiet. None appeared to have thought about that except Harry, who expressed his concerns.

“Yeah, and our families? Does my mum know she has another son for example?”

“Honestly, Harry, I have no idea. I don’t think we are the best people to ask about this. You should talk to management.” Was James answer. “But I know that if Danielle is trying to kiss me, I’ll tell her the truth, no matter if I’m allowed to or not.” Liam gave his brother a smile.

“Yeah, like she’ll believe you. ‘Hey, Dani. No, stop it. I’m not Liam; I’m Liam’s clone, James.’” Louis snickered, the first thing he’d said since Will entered the room a few hours earlier. Niall, Jamie, Zayn and Jav laughed. The Payne’s gave him a flat look.

“I’d just have to prove it. I’d call Liam on the phone or make sure she could see both of us at the same time.”

“Yeah, ‘cause she’d not faint if she saw two Liam’s at once!” Niall laughed even harder. His brother played along, still faking the Irish accent.

“I dunno bro, maybe she’d like it? Dani might be up for a little double Payne action?” Zayn and Jav had both fallen of the couch and were rolling around on the floor, laughing at the innuendos. Niall and Jamie both smirked at their jokes while the two boys being mocked hid their faces in their hands.

“She definitely would be. Who wouldn’t want a little more of the man of your life?” Niall had continued, which hit a nerve in both the Styles and Tomlinsons. Will’s comment from yesterday about a threeway was still eating Harry alive. Visions of himself and Louis in intimate positions had tortured him all night and kept him from sleeping properly, because let’s face it, Will and Ed looked exactly like Harry and Louis, and they were having sex with each other. Ed was just as annoyed and sent the Horans a glare that could set fire to rain.

“Okay, calm down with the threesome jokes, alright?” Will said, probably feeling guilty for bringing it up the day before. “Some of us actually have their boyfriend and brother in this room.” Everyone stopped laughing and an uncomfortable silence fell over the room. None really talked about The Couple, as they were referred to, and how it affected Harry and Louis. Zayn had noticed how Louis was a lot quieter than he usually was and how he gave Ed and Will strange looks, clearly disturbed by their relationship. But it wasn’t like he would intervene, Zayn knew that. Louis understood love, and he had given Harry the same looks when he went out with Caroline and never said anything then. The raven haired boy took a look at his clone sitting across from him on the couch and blushed. Quickly he looked away praying that none had seen him. This was so wrong. Unhealthy. Narcissistic even. But Zayn could not help but feel little butterflies in his stomach as he thought about Jav. Luckily everyone was busy feeling awkward about Will, Ed, Louis and Harry, so they didn’t see Zayn’s red cheeks. Liam felt the need to get the conversation back to its original subject, as the tension was rapidly changing in the room.

“Whatever, boys. How top secret is this whole business anyways? I mean, yes, I understand if the public should not be allowed to know, even though I think they do have the right to do so, but our friends, families, girlfriends?” Suddenly Louis face lit up in realization, and so did Harry’s. Liam had said “girlfriends” in plural, not singular form.

“Oh, fuck.” Were his only words before he ran out of the room, leaving everyone in shock and confusion, except Harry.

“What’s up with him?” Jamie wondered, his London accent back when surprised. Zayn noticed Niall dropping his smile at this, but didn’t say anything.

“Eleanor.” Harry responded and everyone froze. Right, Zayn thought. Liam wasn’t the only one with a girlfriend. Ed sent Will a worried look which was returned with widened eyes. Harry seemed to know what The Couple was thinking.

“Take it easy, love birds. I’m pretty sure it can’t count as cheating as long as Will stays away from her.” The Couple both released a breath of relief and looked less worried. “After all, we all need to remember that even though we share DNA with our clones, we are different people. James is not Liam, Jav is not Zayn, Jamie is not Niall, William is not Louis and Ed is not me. Understood?” Harry looked annoyed and had raised his voice at the last part. Surprised at his outburst, everyone nodded as Harry followed Louis out of the room to avoid the uneasy tension he created. Even though the Paynes, Horans, The Couple and Jav seemed confused at his words and wondered why they were necessary, Zayn understood it. Harry wanted to distance himself from “The Relationship” and how their friends had been looking at him and Louis differently since the clones had gotten into the picture. Everyone expected them to suddenly fall in love and start dating, and they had even gone far enough to think that they already were dating, and they just never had dared telling the other boys about it. After all, they did share a flat, and they were awfully close to each other, much closer than any of the other boys. Zayn sighed and stood up, straightening his clothes. He could feel Jav sending him a glance when adjusting his pants but tried not to think about it. He needed to talk to Louis about what was troubling him.

“I’ll go after them.” They all nodded, Ed looking sad that he could not talk to his brother about this, since Ed was a part of the reason Harry was angry. Jav joined his brother standing.

“I’ll go with you. You can talk to Louis, I’ll talk to Harry.” Zayn could not help but smile at the beautiful boy’s offer to help, and his complete understanding of the situation.

“Thanks.” Was all he could say, a bit tongue-tied at Jav’s kindness and gorgeous smile. They both exited the room leaving the Paynes, the Horans and The Couple mumbling amongst themselves.

“Do you think there is something going on between Harry and Louis?” Jav’s question made Zayn surprised and quite uncomfortable discussing it with his clone, for whom he’d started feeling butterflies in his belly. They stopped walking in front of Louis’ door and turned to face each other.

“I don’t know. If there was nothing going on I think they’d be less awkward about the whole Will-and-Ed-thing. But I don’t know, maybe not, it could also be the contrary, awkward that their clones are gay and dating their best friend’s clone.” Zayn shrugged while looking at the floor, not wanting to look into those brown eyes and risking whatever it was he was risking, he couldn’t really remember what it was.

“Are they gay?” Zayn looked up, and immediately wished he didn’t. Jav had stepped closer, invading Zayn’s personal space. Zayn held a breath and tried his best at finding words to say. What were they even talking about? It was hard thinking straight when those brown eyes were so close, staring into his soul. A vague memory said they were talking about Louis and Harry, and Zayn closed his eyes to not be drawn into Jav again.

“I- I- I don’t kn-know. We’ve n-never discussed it.” Damn it, why did he have to be so nervous around this guy? Zayn mentally pictured himself stepping on all the little bugs in his stomach that were still fluttering around, even though he’d closed his eyes. He could still feel Jav’s presence. Smell his scent. Feel his hand on Zayn’s shoulder, slowly moving to the back of his neck.

“Are you?” The words were whispered into Zayn’s ear, and they made him shiver at the hot breath on his skin.

“I-I-I- I d-d-don-“ But he was cut off by a pair of rough lips connecting with his own, forgetting what he was talking about, why he had gone into the hallway, his own name, and most importantly, that the boy kissing him with identical lips, running identical hands through his identical hair, was his clone.


	6. "Man, You've Messed Up!"

“Oh, my fucking God!” The snogging boys quickly broke apart and turned to see a shocked Louis staring at them in his now open door. “That’s just… Oh, my fucking God. I’ll have to pour bleach in my eyes now.” It was probably meant as a joke, but none laughed, the uncomfortable tension too high. “Zayn, get in here, I need to talk to you.” Zayn turned to his twin, feeling his own cheeks getting hot, still panting a bit from the breathless kiss.

“Go talk to Harry. I’ll, ehm, I’ll talk to Louis. Okay?” Jav only nodded to respond and walked towards Harry’s door while Zayn headed into Louis’s room and closed the door behind him.

“Man, you’ve messed up.” Louis was sitting on his bed and motioned for Zayn to sit down next to him. Zayn ran his hands through his hair, the same way identical hands had done just a few moments earlier, stressed at how the situation had gotten a million times worse in just a few seconds.

“Argh, I know.” Louis seemed angry and disturbed by what he just had witnessed in the hallway. Zayn couldn’t blame him, seeing a couple of twins with their tongues down each other’s throats must be unpleasant.

“Do you even realize how wrong that is? He’s your clone, Zayn.”

“I know. It’s just, he’s so amazing. He’s gorgeous.” Louis flinched.

“What the-?” The Doncaster boy had issues talking from the shock, anger and awkwardness of the situation. “Do you even realize how narcissistic that sounded?”

“I know, he looks like me, so what? And I didn’t come here to talk about Jav, I came here to talk about you.” Zayn shrugged, turning the subject over to whatever was going on with Louis right now. “What is troubling you? Is it The Couple?” Louis gave him a flat look, but the corners of his mouth twitched a little.

“It’s just, I don’t know. They are clones of me and Harry, with our personalities and stuff, and they’re shagging. Does that mean that Harry and I should be shagging? I mean, I’m not gay, I’ve never felt the need to have someone’s dick shoved up my arse-“

“You really can turn a phrase.” Zayn interrupted, chuckling, earning a slap on his head.

“Seriously, Zayn. I’m trying to tell you I’m not in the closet here!” Zayn started apologizing, fighting laughter.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I get it, you’re straight.” They both went quiet, sitting next to each other on the bed in the messy room. None of them really knew how to start a conversation, but Zayn made an attempt at a topic that was far from Jav and his very kissable lips. “Do you really think they’re sleeping with each other though? Maybe they haven’t gone that far together yet?” Louis gave a bitter laugh.

“Believe me; they’re sleeping with each other. I can see it from the way the clone keeps touching the inside of Ed’s thigh and stares at his ass, as if it’s his property or something.” Zayn was surprised at Louis noticing things about Will, when he could not remember the Doncaster boy even once give his brother another glance.

“How come you notice these things without even looking at him?” Louis curled his lips in disgust.

“I can’t help it, I’m trying not to look at the bastard, but he’s being so annoyingly obvious. Twat.” Zayn furrowed his eyebrows together in a frown. Louis was being rude. Louis was never rude. Sassy and cocky, quite often, but never rude and mean. He didn’t even call Will by his name, just ‘the clone’. It sounded so degrading and inhumane. None of the other boys acted like that about their clones, to the others the identical boys were their twin brothers (which put Zayn in an awkward position with Jav, but that was to worry about later), people to love and laugh with. People with feelings and background stories. Louis hadn’t even spoken a word to Will since they met a few days ago. Something was definitely wrong with him, and as his second best friend (because everyone knew Harry was number one, would always be and had always been, ever since they’d leaped into each other’s arms when put together at bootcamp) Zayn saw it as his duty to find out what it was and help him. He gently put his hand on his friend’s back, afraid he would shrug it away, but Louis didn’t.

“Tell me, Lou. What’s wrong? Tell me all of it.” And Louis snapped, gripping the front of Zayn’s shirt and pulling him closer, sobbing into the younger boy’s chest. Zayn looked down at his friend bewildered. He had never seen him like this before and it scared him a bit.

“It’s just, I don’t know. Everything is so wrong. Everything is so weird. I have a clone that is fucking Harry’s clone, so basically I’m fucking Harry, but I have El, so I’m sort of cheating on her through my clone, and my clone is just, I hate him, Zayn, and not because he’s with Ed, or because he’s gay, even if I’m not, which really should be confusing, and it is, but the worst part is that he seems so happy with Ed and I don’t feel as happy with El as he does with Ed and that is so wrong, because it makes me all confused about her but I don’t want to be because I love her and then there is Niall, all happy having a brother and Liam’s only concern is Danielle, which mine should be too but with Eleanor but I also worry about the clone because I hate him. I hate him, Zayn.” Louis was speaking so slurred and muffled into Zayn’s chest it was quite difficult to keep up, but the last bit was clear through the tears and whining. Why would Louis hate Will? Will was so nice, fun, spontaneous, happy and so much like Louis it should be impossible to dislike him.

“Why do you hate him, Lou?” The question was gentle and trying. Maybe he wouldn’t answer; maybe he didn’t have an answer. People can hate things for years without understanding why they do it. But Louis had an answer, and it scared Zayn to hear it.

“Because he’s me.”


	7. "Wow, Pinocchio. You're A Terrible Liar."

Jav took a deep breath before knocking on Harry’s door and entering. His lips still tingled from where Zayn’s had met his and he blushed at the memory. He had no idea of how he had gotten the courage to do it; he didn’t even know why he had done it. He had made everything so much worse, but for some fucked up reason he wasn’t even sorry. He was only a bit embarrassed that Louis had seen them and reacted the way he did. But then again, Jav would probably have reacted the same way if he had found Louis and William in a liplock. Even though that was unthinkable as William and Louis hated each other. Harry looked up at the boy entering the room and scanned his underarm to see which Malik it was.

“Hey, Jav.” He said when seeing the bandage covering his fresh tattoo. “I’m sorry about lashing out on you all, but I was annoyed.” Jav let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding out of relief that Harry didn’t realize that Zayn’s fingers had messed up Jav’s hair and that his lips were red from kissing. He gave a little chuckle at how Harry and Ed both were a bit oblivious to these sorts of things, while himself and Zayn was extremely observant of people’s actions. That was probably the reason they immediately understood what Harry was upset with when running out of the living room.

“Harry, there is no need to apologize. You had every right to be angry. And I wouldn’t really call it a “lash out”. More of a statement of facts in a raised voice.” Harry chuckled at Jav’s words and the dark haired boy felt relieved that Harry wasn’t too upset. “Do you want to talk about it?” Jav offered his friend, who turned his stare from the floor to the boy sitting next to him.

“Yeah.” Harry ran a hand through his curls to keep them from his eyes (an attempt that failed as always, those curls lived a life of their own). “I’m just so confused and angry with Louis.” Jav raised his eyebrows.

“Why?”

“Don’t get me wrong, he’s my best friend and all, but he’s just really getting on my nerves lately. He is clearly bothered by something, but he won’t tell me by what or why. I mean, I asked him once and he said he was scared that Will would take his job and that he’d do something stupid in Louis’s name, but I know that was a lie.” Harry ran angry hands through his hair and Jav decided to try and carefully pull some answers out of him.

“What do you think is the truth?” Harry turned to him as if he was crazy.

“How am I supposed to know that? It’s his secret, not mine.” Jav didn’t give up, he wanted to show Zayn he’d made some progress.

“Take a guess. What do you think it could be?” Harry rolled his eyes.

“Something about Will, most likely. Since he’s only been like this since Will showed up. I think he’s afraid of Will because he’s gay, and thinks it means that he’s gay too, because he and Will are the same, and he’s afraid to talk to me about it because his brother and my brother are together. I mean, it is pretty weird.”

“Yeah, but he and Will is not the same person. You said that yourself.” Jav defended himself and Zayn’s actions from a few minutes earlier without even being accused of anything.

“I know they’re not, but they’re at least brothers. Ed and I are brothers, you and Zayn are brothers,” Harry failed to notice Jav’s face for a second looking stressed before covering it up with a knowing look and a nod. “and brothers talk to each other. You talk to Zayn, I talk to Ed, Niall talks to Jamie, Liam talks to James and Louis should be talking to Will.”

“Harry, you know that, and I know that, and I bet Louis knows that as well, he’s just too scared to talk to you because he feels exposed when his clone – yes, I know, I hate the term too – is dating your clone. Maybe he’s scared to talk to you about it because he has feelings for you.” Harry choked on air and started stuttering, as his face turned bright red.

“Wha-wha-what? F-feelings for me? No. No way.” Jav smirked because he’d gotten just the reaction he’d wanted.

“Oh, yes. I think he likes you, but he’s been scared to admit it, and now when he sees his twin dating your twin he’s jealous of them and afraid of showing you that, and he’s also scared that you’ll find out how he feels about you and be rejected.” Harry’s eyes were now wide open and his eyebrows not visible under his curly fringe (not that it made much difference from before, but still). “He thinks you don’t like him like that, which he’s obviously wrong about.” Jav didn’t think it possible for Harry to be more embarrassed and he was proven wrong, as his theory was proven true. Harry didn’t take this conversation the same way Niall had responded when talking about him and Demi Lovato. Harry more resembled Liam when talking about Danielle. Since the scientists and Zayn’s birth parents had given Jav a high functioning brain, he could easily tell that Harry indeed had feelings for his band mate and best friend and smiled at his little confirmation. Now he just had to get the curly haired boy to admit it.

“No, I don’t like Louis.” His eyes were lying. “He’s my best friend, that’s all.” The green orbs told Jav the real story. “I have never ever had romantic feelings for Louis.” Jav could almost see his nose grow longer and his tongue turn black, so he laughed.

“Wow, Pinocchio. You’re a terrible liar.” And finally, Harry dropped the façade.

“I know.”

 

\------

 

Self hatred is never easy to deal with. Going around day after day looking at people who are comfortable being who they are, while you are feeling lost and like your existence is pointless. People tell you you’re perfect just the way you are but you disagree. You want to change but don’t have the energy or the knowledge to do so, and you’re too scared to ask for help, because if you did someone would know your real feelings and that you’re not as perfect as they think you are and then they wouldn’t love you. All you want is to be loved by someone, but what you don’t understand is that you can’t be truly loved by anyone else if you don’t love yourself.

Very often you don’t even have to deal with your self hatred, and you can go on a lifetime without it causing trouble or anyone noticing. You can happily be aware of your problem, but you put up walls around you so none can see what is really going on in your mind. You create a plan of how to maintain friendly and romantic relationships and keep the people you love in the dark about how you cry yourself to sleep after cutting your wrists and covering it up with long sleeved shirts, watches and bracelets. But when meeting yourself your seemingly flawless plan to ignore it fails. You will have met the one person that messes it all up, and you finally have someone to blame for everything you hate about yourself. That person knows. That person knows that you’re not as perfect as the others think. That person sees your flaws and feels your pain. Suddenly you are no longer bullet-proof.

 

This is what Louis dealt with. Self hatred which he had happily concealed from his friends and family for years without anyone realizing that many of the smiles were fake and that all his laughter’s were not genuine. But then William came along.

 

William knew his faults, he knew his fears, and he knew what a twat he is. William knew everything, and nothing scared Louis more than a person who knew everything. And William was a twat. William was annoying. William was too loud, too colourful, too much. William was stupid, cocky, gay, sassy, overrated and false. Everything Louis hated about himself. The only thing that differed them was the courage William possessed. The courage to admit his feelings for the one he loved.


	8. Chapter 8

Niall couldn’t talk. No matter how hard he tried, no sounds escaped his lips.

“Looks like I have to start my job early.” Jamie said and his brother nodded and gave him a sad expression which Jamie returned with a hug and a kiss on his blond head. “Don’t worry, it’ll all be okay and I’ll be home in a few hours.”

“This is risky.” said James. “Jamie hasn’t known Niall long enough to make a good interpretation. What if someone discovers the truth?” Jamie gave him a dark look.

“I think I know more about Niall than all you people combined, thank you very much.” His tone was hard and hurt, but had an undertone of a warning, and even though maybe Niall was as terrifying as a baby penguin, Jamie was more of a fully grown falcon. (Harry was confused to why that was, they had the same face and memories. How could they be so different? Edward and Harry wasn’t that different) James took a step back at his friend’s hostility. This was a very sensitive subject for Niall and Jamie, since Jamie had ran away out of fear that Niall wouldn’t accept him, and James understood that. If he was accused of not knowing Liam he would probably react the same way. Niall soothed his brother with a hand on his arm and mouthed a sentence none seemed to understand but Jamie, who nodded and whispered something in his ear, before turning to the others.

“I’m going instead of Nialler, since he clearly doesn’t feel good.” None argued and his features loosened up into a little smile when Jav sat down on the couch next to Niall and put an arm around him.

“We’ll take care of him for you, Jamie. Won’t we, Will?” He looked to the boy with an arm around his boyfriend’s waist.

“Of course we will. Ed, babe, will you go fix some tea, please?” He kissed his curly haired boyfriend’s nose before letting him go to the kitchen. Louis and Harry looked away from The Couple, but still caught them looking googly-eyed at each other. Harry felt his brother’s eyes and he looked back at him with a frown, showing how annoyed he was with the display of affection that he had asked them to tone down. Ed just shrugged and exited the room. Harry shook his head and looked at his best friend instead, finding Louis shooting daggers with his eyes at William. At the sight of this, and the awful thought of how Louis hated the relationship between Ed and Will, Harry felt as if something pierced his heart. Was Louis so disgusted by seeing a couple looking just like himself and Harry that he even hated the person that was supposed to be his brother? Did Louis really despise the idea of himself and Harry in a romantic relationship that much? The talk with Jav had given Harry a little flame of hope in his chest, even though he hadn’t dared telling the Malik twin about it, that Louis might be acting awkward because he as well felt something. But that little flame was murdered by Louis’ hateful eyes. There was no way Louis loved him back. It was a gloomy and blue Harry Styles that left with Zayn, Liam, Louis and Jamie a few minutes later, leaving Niall sitting securely tucked in between Will and Jav with a cup of tea in his hands.

 

\------ 

 

The Horan twins both spent the day feeling out of place. A little because of the fact that they where so far apart from each other, but mostly because the people they hung out with looked exactly like the four boys they’d hung out with for so long, but they acted so much different.

Jamie’s day of hanging out with what Louis would cruelly call “The Originals” had been at an official event, signing CD’s and meeting fans at a HMV, performing a couple songs for the enormous crowd that had gathered. The other boys had all done these things before, so they expertly jumped up on the little stage that had been built up especially for this event, laughing and smiling at the crowd. Jamie tried his best to act the way his brother would, smiling and waving just like his friends, but his head was spinning and his stomach churning over how overwhelming it all was. He felt an arm wrap around his shoulders and turned to see a pair of dark brown eyes looking back at him, smiling reassuringly. Liam must have noticed how awkward Jamie acted and came over from the other side of the stage. Jamie expressed his thankfulness under his breath so none would start suspecting that something was wrong.

But it was wrong. The presenter introduced “Zayn, Harry, Liam, Louis and Niall from One Direction”, Harry called him Niall when asking him to pass him a bottle of water, Lou Teasdale had asked him what the hell he had done to his hair when styling him, clearly not knowing it wasn’t the same boy she was used to meeting, and the worst part, was having to sign Niall’s name, as if he’d never done anything else, on the fans’ CD’s and posters. He felt dishonest, faking the Irish accent in front of these people, pretending to be a person he loved so dearly and would do anything for. But he kept signing, knowing that it was what Niall would have done, and because he had no choice.

 

\------ 

 

But if Jamie’s day was strange and overwhelming, it was nothing against what Niall was feeling, sitting cuddled up under a blanket in his own couch, surrounded by his best friend’s twins. Jav held his promise to Jamie by taking god care of Niall, cooking tea as often as Niall made the tea sign, (They had came up with a fast way of communicating through a set of home made hand signs, to avoid having Niall write down everything he wanted to say. They had all laughed and contributed into making it a fun thing, playing charades with everyone guessing what Niall was trying to say. It had made Niall feel better about being away from Jamie, to silently laugh with Jav, James, Will and Ed. They also felt like a family, just like the four boys he’d gotten to know two years earlier) making him soup when it was time for lunch and Niall’s throbbing throat ache refused him from eating solid food. James raided the closets and cupboards for every blanket and warm jumper he could find as soon as Niall showed that he was freezing, while Will and Ed tried to keep him warm by sitting on opposite sides of him and cuddling up to his shaking body, holding him tightly and warming him with their shared body heat. Many boys in Niall’s age would feel humiliated and embarrassed by having to be looked after like this by his friends, especially by friends he’d only known for about week, but Niall liked the feeling of being looked after and appreciated how caring they were, not to mention how much fun it was to boss Jav around.

They all sat in Niall’s lounge, now Jav and James having taken the places next to Niall, while watching a movie, The Couple had moved to sit on their own. It was clear that Will and Ed enjoyed the freedom the absence of Harry and Louis brought, as they didn’t hide the little kisses and openly called each other pet names. The utter confusion of seeing the living images of his two best friends sitting on the sofa opposite him, legs tangled and Will’s hands in Ed’s hair while whispering into each other’s ears would have made him mute if his sickness hadn’t caused that already. What confused him even more was how neither James nor Jav reacted at all when the couple started kissing in front of them, Will’s hands running slowly through his boyfriend’s curls while Ed caressed Will’s back and bottom, pulling him to sit in Ed’s lap. Niall kept watching, fascinated by the couple. It was so surreal, seeing the two faces connecting at their lips, blissful sighs escaping them, but he could not put his finger on why he found it so fascinating. It wasn’t that they looked so happy to be gently snogging and cuddling right there for all their friends to see, not having to hide how they felt, even though that was sort of nice. Niall just imagined what it must be like for them, having to hide in public for the sake of their brothers and friends, and in private out of respect for Harry and Louis. None should have to hide who they are, like the way his brother right now was forced to pretend he was Niall. He looked back at the couple on the couch and suddenly it hit him. What was so fascinating and bizarre was how right the pair looked, like the tall boy with the curls and dimples and the shorter boy with feathery hair and perfect smile _belonged together._


	9. Call Your Girlfriend

Liam was worried. Such a cliché. Of course “daddy direction” was worried. But for once he wasn’t alone. Everything was falling apart and the boys could all feel it. Harry was for the first time lying to his mother while slowly feeling his best friend slip away. Zayn felt horrible and questioned his own sanity. Niall worried for his friends more than himself. Louis cut and hated himself more than usual, avoiding everything that had to do with his twin. Liam didn’t know what to do about his family. He desperately wanted James to fit in with the others. The Payne family was wonderful. He loved his parents and his sisters and he knew that they all loved him in return. But they had had years to get to know each other and had so many shared memories. No amount of weird science-stuff could ever live up to that.

"Don't worry, Li. They love you, so they'll love me too!" James had seen something was troubling his brother so Liam had voiced his concerns.

"But what if they think the whole clone thing is weird?"

"Yeah, they might, but to be honest, it is quite weird." Liam frowned so James quickly continued. "But not in a bad way! I swear, Li. Everything will be okay. Let's just take one new person in at a time, okay? Call your girlfriend." He handed Liam his phone.

"It's time we had a talk?" Liam sang and James laughed.

"Yeah, but not like in that song, please." Liam nodded in agreement as he dialled the number. He most definitely wasn't in love with James and he most definitely didn't want to break up with Danielle.

 

An hour later there is a rustle of a key put in the door and the locks turning. James quickly whispers something in Liam's ear as the door opens and the sound of Danielle dropping her keys at the table can be heard from the other room. Liam nods, even though the plan is quite risky and maybe not a very gentle way of letting her know the truth.

"Hi, Li! Sorry I'm late, traffic was a nightmare." Danielle says and James walks out to greet her.

"That's okay, hon-"

“Who are you?” Danielle cuts him off. James beams at her, keeping up the act.

“What are you talking about, babe? It’s me, Liam!” Danielle takes a cautious step back and raises her hands in defensive pose.

“Okay, I have no idea who you are, but get out of my boyfriend’s flat, right now.” Liam hears the conversation from the kitchen and smiles in joy. She could tell them apart. James doesn’t answer, apparently stunned by Danielle’s reaction. “I said get out! Before I call the police!” Liam hear whacking sounds and James’s grunts in pain. He laughs and runs into the hallway to find his girlfriend hitting James with an umbrella.

“Hey, Dani. I see you’ve met my brother. Dani, this is James. James, this is my lovely girlfriend, Danielle.”

 

Then comes the explaining. That management had made all five of them clones, that they had the same memories, that James was living here from now on. As the twins speak, Danielle never asks questions. She just sits across from them and listens with an unreadable expression on her face. When the explaining is over, she asks Liam to follow her into the hallway to talk alone.

 

“Liam, I’m not sure if I can do this.” Danielle sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose.

“Do what?” Liam isn't really sure what she is talking about.

“This! You, me and … James.” He furrows his eyebrows in confusion.

“James has nothing to do with this.” Again, she sighs.

“He looks like you.” She says while looking at Liam as if he should know what she means. Oh, she is probably worried about them fooling her and cheating on Liam by mistake.

“But you could tell the difference! You could-“ Liam starts but Danielle interrupts him.

“Of course I can tell the difference! But the fans won’t be able to! Does your family know?”

“No. But they will. I think.” Liam is not sure, but he wants them to know, he really does. He wants James to meet Ruth and Nicola and their mum and dad. He wants James to be a part of them. Danielle shakes her head in disbelief.

“I can’t believe you let them do this to you.”

“What?” Dani is clearly upset about something but Liam don't see what it is.

“I can’t believe you don’t stand up for yourself, and for James as well.” The way she is looking at him makes him cringe. As if she sees him for the first time, and doesn't like it.

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t you see how twisted and wrong this whole thing is? They created clones of you, without asking! Where is your integrity?” Her voice is raised now, and Liam tries to defend himself, but it is hard when she say what he secretly have been thinking himself.

“It’s for us to not be so stressed out.” It was a weak attempt. But what could he do?

“Liam, I know you’re not that naïve! You know as well as I do that they do all of it for themselves. They’re selfish pricks who only care about the money they make out of you! They play God, experimenting with technology that could be used to save lives, just so they can have their little army of boyband clones to sell off to the world and grab even more money to their treasure trove. Don't you see how inhumane this is?

“Inhumane?" Liam is confused.

"Yes, Liam. Inhumane. You're stripping this boy of an actual life. He is not allowed to be a real person, because he has to be you. He can't make his own decisions. He can't go out in public. He can't be free." Dani is furious. Liam has never seen her this angry before. "You don't even have anything to say about it? I thought you were better than this, Liam." It stings. Danielle has a point, but Liam really has no idea what to say. "I can't do this. I think... I think we should take a break." Tears makes her eyes glossy and Liam can feel his own eyes burn.

"Dani, please. I-" He begins but is interrupted.

"No, Liam. I really can't. I'm breaking up with you." She sighs and gives a sob. "I'm sorry." And with that she leaves. Gone. Just like that. Liam feels his knees give in and he falls to the floor. On the ground in front of him there is a key. The key that used to be attached to Danielle's purple sparkly heart key chain. 


	10. All Men Needs Comfort

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi. I'm sorry about time and not writing. I understand if you've given up on me, but if you're still here and still care about this story. Thank you.

"Of course we'll be there!" Will hears his boyfriend saying from the next room. He sighs. What could the emergency be? As long as it has nothing to do with a certain someone he'll be there. "No, no, James, I'll call them. Take care of him for now until we get there. It'll just be an hour or so. Okay, great. Well, tell him we're all coming." Perfect. So the certain someone might be involved. And Will who had planned on spending an evening alone with his loving boyfriend and a stack of the cheesy romcoms Ed loves so much.

"What's wrong?" He says as Ed enters the living room a moment later, seemingly flicking through his phone for something.

"Danielle left Liam. James just called to ask us all there to cheer him up." Ed says, still looking at his phone as he sits down next to Will on the couch. "I swear I had Niall's number somewhere here."

"Is it really a good idea to bring us there? A happy couple to remind Liam of what he just lost?" Will looks at Ed who now stares back, frowning.

"Isn't Liam your friend?" He asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Of course he is, but-" Will is cut off.

"Then you'll be there. We just won't act as a couple, okay? We shouldn't, anyways, since Louis and Harry will be there." Ed said, making it Will's turn to frown.

"Right." Will sighs, looking away. Fuck Louis. He's a cunt anyways. Will would let Ed fuck him hard and deep, right in front of precious Louis' little eyes. See him hate every second of it. Will didn't care what Louis felt or wanted to be protected from. Will would not grant him with that courtesy.

"Oh, here it is!" Ed had apparently found Niall's number, because he was telling someone on the other line what had happened and asked to go to Liam's place. After he'd hung up, Jav seemed to be on the other end of a new conversation, because Will heard a small "yeah I'll tell Zayn" when Ed leaned against his side. Will smirked. Jav and Zayn. That was interesting and far beyond normal. And even though Will would confess (already had confessed too) to have fantasised about having both Ed and Harry at a few points, he knew it would never happen and there was always him there in the middle as a buffer between the two brothers. Will hoped he was wrong in his assumptions though. Never have he wanted to be wrong like this before.

"So, how are the Malik's?" Will said when his boyfriend hung up the phone. "I  hope you explained to them that we want no happy couples at Liam's place."

"What? Who would they bring?" It was a good thing Ed looked cute when he was oblivious.

"Each other." Will answered with a wink. Ed let out a shocked gasp. "Oh, come on, babe, haven't you seen it? They look at each other the way you looked at me before you got the balls to say anything about it." Ed blushed but his face still clearly said _I can't believe you said that!_ which Will laughed at on the inside, because really, Ed should know him better by now.

"But Will, they're brothers. Twins. It's wrong and weird and you're just trying to make it okay for you to ask Harry into bed with us which, by the way, will never ever happen." It was Will's turn to look surprised. He had no clue that Ed was still thinking about what he'd said the other day.

"Babe, I wasn't even considering it. But you obviously did. Teddy, what's wrong?" Ed had been out of sorts lately, and Will only wanted to help him out.

"It's nothing." Will almost snorted, but remained patient with his stubborn boyfriend.

"Come on, love, you can tell me anything, you know that." Will petted Ed's hair, running his hands through it.

"I- I know it's stupid, but, do you want Harry?" Ed whispered.

"What?" Will was confused.

"Do you- oh, this sounds so dumb and- but, like, do you like Harry?" William threw his arms around Ed, holding him tight.

"No. Baby, I love you. Only you. Sure, Harry is really attractive and stuff, but that's just because he looks just like you, even though I must say that you are a little bit more sexy, and gorgeous and beautiful. There is no way I'd ever want Harry. So don't you ever think that I would."

"Even if there was no me?" Ed whispered, eyes unsure.

"If there was no you, I'd be a loner until the end of my days." William said, kissing the tears away from Ed's face. They sat there in silence for a few minutes, Will rubbing Ed's back slowly, before they remembered what had triggered Ed's questions.

"Babe, we should get going. I said to James that we wouldn't be long." Ed said, kissing Will's cheek. "You're wonderful at cheering people up and I recon Liam will need that right about now."

William nodded, smiled and held his boyfriend's hand until they got out the door. He thought about what Ed had said. _You're wonderful at cheering people up._ Irony got the better of him. Yes, he was good at cheering people up. He smiled wide and laughed loud. Everyone smiled back at him, laughed at his jokes. Everyone except one. But Will didn't care for that last person. That person caused him nothing but misery. Will had tried so hard not to let anything get to him, but it was hard when sometimes as he looked into a mirror, he saw Louis staring back at him.

 

\---

 

Harry and Louis arrives last of the boys to Liam's apartment, Louis carrying two six-packs and a Tesco's bag filled with bags of crisps. He struts of to the kitchen to unload the beer and snacks as Harry immediately finds his brother standing outside the living room with James and Niall.

"How is he doing?" He says as he greets the three boys with hugs.

"Little better now when you're all here. He was a right mess before." James answers, sighing.

"What happened? Why did she break up with him?" Harry asks.

"They told her. Liam didn't want to keep it a secret to her." Niall says, without his usually cheery tone of voice.

"She deserved to know." James says defensively.

"Of course she did. All our families do." Harry says, trying to reassure James that they're on the same side here. "And she dumped him? Just like that?"

"No, I overheard the talk they had. She was talking about how Liam wasn't standing up for himself or for me and how our management are dicks-"

"They kinda are." Niall adds.

"- and how it was all unfair to me and that it was all too much for her to handle and yeah, she broke up with him because of me." James finished, looking down at the floor. Ed stepped closer and gave him a hug.

"It's not your fault, mate. It was too much information at once. She needs time to think it through. Don't blame yourself." He says, stroking James' back. Everyone is quiet for a while, Ed holding James in his arms.

"She's right though." Niall states after a while. The other three look at him. "Our management are dicks for doing this to you. It's so unfair to create you only to be back-up us."

"Not to mention how degrading it is of them to think you could all be replaced and none would notice." Ed adds, letting his grip on James a little looser.

"Danielle noticed." James says, still holding Ed tight. "I went to her first and she could tell I wasn't Liam. I didn't ask her how. I should have asked how. What makes me different from Liam?"

The question strikes the other boys, because they don't know. Ed and Harry stare at each other over James' shoulder, while Niall looks from one twin to another, trying to spot differences. How _did_ they tell? Niall gets an idea.

"I don't know. How do you tell which one of Ed and Harry is hugging you right now?" He says. James looks up.

"Ed, of course." He says without hesitation.

"And how do you know that?" Niall wonders.

"It feels like Ed. It's his air." James answers.

"And that's what she felt. She felt that you weren't Liam, just the way we can feel you're not Liam, because we know you, and we love you." Niall says.

"I love you too guys. I'm so happy to have you all in my life." James whispers.

"Aww, come here!" Niall says as he pulls Harry, Ed and James into his arms, all at once. Harry suspects he's actually Mr. Fantastic. They stand there for a little while, tangled together all four of them, before they hear someone approaching and starting to talk in a voice very similar to Niall's.

"This looks cozy." Jamie says and wraps his arms around Harry's shoulders. "Okay, not that this isn't really nice and stuff, but we're here to cheer up Liam, come into the living room. Will won't go in there without you, Ed."

Ed sighs. "It's cos Louis is here. Those two are starting to really piss me off." He lets go of James and slithers out of the pile of boys, walking in the direction of the living room.

The rest of the pile breaks apart.

"Yeah, I think Liam need to be in the middle of this embrace now." James says, they all nod and follow Ed to the living room were Zayn and Louis are sitting on either side of Liam on the couch, rubbing his back and providing him with what they hope are comforting words. Jamie and Niall look at each other and go there to start a new pile, pressing Louis, Zayn and Liam together. Jav enters from the kitchen and jumps at them, soon followed by Ed, James and Harry. Will walks in as the pile tumbles to the floor, but remains as tight as before. He smiles at the sight, before attaching himself to Ed's back. He breathes in the air of his favourite people in the world, and only flinches a little when his hand traces over a hand that feels very much like his own, but isn't.


End file.
